Roll & Play: A Game Review

Toddlers go through toy phases. B is currently into Thomas the Train and all 70 of his friends. C loves Daniel Tiger. B loves cats, C likes dogs. Both of them like the “teeny tiny baby” in my belly.

Up until recently, I didn’t think toddlers were quite ready for games. Simple activities, yes. But games? I was a little hesitant when we received our kids’ first actual game, Roll and Play. Or as C calls it – “The Cube Game”. In fact, I didn’t open it right away. I wasn’t sure my two year olds would be able to follow directions, though if they enjoyed just looking at the cards and throwing the cube, I’d be fine with that.

Let me tell you – not only were my toddlers ready for their very first game, it’s a huge hit around here. C, especially, is obsessed with it and plays with it at least three times a day. This game is an absolute winner, and it inspired me to write a review post.

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using these links, I will receive a percentage of the profits. 

As you can see, our box is getting a little beaten up due to overuse! C asks to play “the cube game” multiple times a day, and she takes care to dump out the box and sort the cards into their six colors (which could be an activity in itself!). She sometimes plays with B, sometimes with us, and sometimes alone. It can be used with many players or solo. C loves it so much, she doesn’t care if she plays completely alone.

The idea of the game is quite simple. The child rolls or throws the cube.

Whatever color is shown at the top of the cube is the color card the toddler grabs. Each card has a descriptive picture on it as well as written directions.

Here are just a few examples (each set of colors has eight cards, I believe):

As you can see, the directions are very simple and clear. There’s a theme to them, as well. All the yellow cards ask the children to make faces. All the blue cards involve locating something around the room that’s a certain color. C dislikes the green cards the most when she doesn’t feel like making animal noises.

She must’ve found a good one! Obviously, my 2.5 year old can’t read a sentence. That said, the pictures are very clear and easy to understand. She also plays so often that she knows the cards by heart. She can see a picture of a girl stomping and locates the number six, and because she knows her numbers, she knows just what to do.

It’s very cute to watch her pick up a card, “read” it aloud, then perform the action completely on her own. This is her “make a sleepy face” interpretation.

B plays as well, though I’d say only about once a day. 🙂

I can’t recommend this game enough. It’s not only perfect for toddlers but also preschoolers. It would make a fabulous gift for a birthday party or the perfect addition to a toy room. If I had to clear out all of the twins’ toys but could only pick one thing for each of them – B would get to keep his trains, and C would keep “the cube game”.

You can find Roll & Play HERE, and with the amount of times it gets played in this house, I’m so glad I finally opened it up!

Here’s C’s “Play Peekaboo” interpretation.

Peekaboo!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I have not been paid to review this product. All opinions and thoughts about this product are my own!